Aldridge's strong leg to stand on

The opening of Tiger Stadium is just one of a few new designs they will unveil. A t-shirt that contains the ideals of Dripping Springs football: trust, passion and discipline. It also containsa constant reminder of how headstrong Trey Aldridge truly is.

I like to think it's stubborness - i'm stubborn so I wasn't willing to give in,” said Aldridge.

On October 1st Trey and a friend went hunting and fishing in south Texas. Traveling on 290 on their return home, the duo endured a head-on collision. Trey’s ankle was crushed beneath the dashboard and it resulted in 30-40 fractures in his ankle and foot. Doctors told Trey they could save his leg, but it would require 7-8 surgeries over a 2-3 year span.

“Even if everything worked out in long run, I’d be limping around, possibly addicted to painkillers. That didn't sound like a life I wanted,” explained Aldridge.

“It was hard on Trey and he had a lot of big decisions to make – some real grown-up decisions,” said Zimmerman.

Aldridge’s grueling choice – he told doctors to amputate his leg just below his knee. His attitude remained positive.

“I just felt I kind of lived it one day at a time to get past it. Whatever bumps in the road there are, let’s get past ‘em and get better,” said Trey.

Thanks to some research his dad did, Trey got a lot better – when they fitted him for a prosthetic leg. Just letting Trey be Trey was the best thing they could do.

“I heard from other people but I didn't know what to expect, but I put it on and it was just like putting my leg on,” said Aldridge with a smile.

His teammates didn’t know if they’d see him back on the field, but with clearance to resume football activities, Trey went right back to work on the O-Line – five months removed from the accident.

“Why stop at being normal? Let’s go back to playing football,” Trey told himself.

Trey started back in the offseason program, lifting and slowly jogging before natural progression took over. Trey eventually started feeling like himself too.

"He’ll stick his foot under the gator tire and joke – ‘coach, you rolled over my foot.’ Just being a crazy funny teenager,” explained Zimmerman.

‘I’m just taking my leg and going home,’ Trey would joke to his team.

Trust, passion, discipline. The core of the Tigers program is also a part of the t-shirt design that helps give Trey's prosthetic leg it's character. Insurance wouldn't cover the leg specifically for playing sports because it's not medically necessary, so some of Trey's friends put together a GoFundMe account. They raised nearly 20,000 dollars - and the names of the donors are on trey's t-shirt on his leg.

Guys are happy to see me playing – and I’m happy to be there,” said Aldridge.